Down to 3 of us now we leave the lazy beach days behind us and catch a flight to Varanasi. We’ve had time now to adjust to the chaos of India but nothing quite prepared us when we stepped out of the taxi. We’d had the hotel pick us up at the airport and had driven in silence as we drove the hour long ride.  We bounced along avoiding cows and people, dogs and potholes. Dust filled the air from work on a new elevated roadway, horns honked constantly and it felt like we’d never get there. Darkness had set in, headlights seem optional.

And then we stopped, time to get out but not a hotel in sight. We stood dumbfounded on the road in the middle of hundreds of people, cows and chaos. After a few moments a young man in a uniform popped out of nowhere, greeted us and grabbed all the bags. We followed closely behind, not wanting to get lost in the crowds. Through small alleyways we went dodging motorbikes, people and the odd cow, then finally we were at the hotel steps being greeted by the most friendly staff still shell shocked.

So much better in the daylight!

Varanasi is the spiritual capital of India. Every year millions of Hindu pilgrims come here to bathe in the Ganges River’s sacred waters. It’s believed that a single dip in the holy waters can wash away a lifetime of sins. Sadly I will leave still a sinner.

 Sunrise and sunset ceremonies are preformed daily and people gather on land and by boat fills to watch.

Varanasi dates back over 5000 years and is said to be one of the oldest inhabited cities of the world. 365  ghats line the river. Two of these ghats are where the Hindus cremate their dead. Fires burn day and night all year, the process very efficient. The men of the family watch but women stay at home. The Hindu believe that if a deceased’s ashes are laid in the Ganges, their soul will be transported to heaven and escape reincarnation. The only people who can’t be cremated are young children,pregnant women, holy men, people bitten by snakes and lepers. They are offered directly into the river.

Scenes around the river

Wood gathered from the jungle for cremation ceremony

Covered in ash from the cremated this spiritual man spends most of his days smoking marijuana 

Cool graffiti

A common symbol in India way before the Nazi party got hold of it

People bathe in the river and cows too!

And the laundry

2 sweet girls selling jewellery after school

Evening ceremony

Certainly one place I shall never forget.